VISBY, GOTLAND, SWEDEN: STEPPING INTO THE MIDDLE AGES!

Saturday, August 15, 2026
Visby, Gotland, Sweden
79F and sunny

One of the gates

 into Visby

First look inside!

Narrow passageways

Heading down!

Imagine who lived 

or worked here!

I want to take Visby home with me. It is a beautifully preserved medieval town on the Swedish island of Gotland, famous for its stunning 13th-century stone wall, Medieval church, and cobblestone streets.

The flag of Gotland

Visby has a permanent population of approximately 26,000 residents, while the wider island of Gotland has a population around 61,500 people. During the peak summer months, tourism causes this number to explode, drawing over 200,000 weekly visitors to the medieval streets.

This is the place to be for a Medieval Festival!  And, we discovered that Visby Medieval Week was last week, we just missed it. We missed eight days of jousting, knights on horseback, bands, archers, crafts (including medieval calligraphy), jesters, the fairy tale meadow, vendors, and medieval food!

I’m glad we took the shuttle to Visby ($14 RT/pp), because we walked and walked, walked downhill, uphill, and back downhill, then uphill again—no wonder we are walking between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day! And I thought by now my creaky joints would be back in shape. Oops, birthday next month and I need a reality check as to how old I will be! TK is toughing it out too, with knee replacements, ankle pins, and upper femur pins. We just do it!

All the walking was worth it, because Visby is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Scandinavia and is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.  Among its most notable historical remains are the 2.1 mile long town wall that encircles the town center.  There are a number of church ruins and interesting alleyways. Many of the stone houses are preserved in their original medieval style. Visby and Taillin (Estonia) are the only two North European towns in which the city’s medieval grid plan has been fully preserved into present day. 

These rams are everywhere

very photogenic

Saffranspannkaka here!

We found a bakery with a very good croissant, very strong coffee, and Saffranspannkaka—a traditional Swedish dessert from the island of Gotland. Made of rice pudding, cream, milk, sugar, eggs, almonds, and saffron, it is baked until golden. It is served with whipped cream and dewberry (salmbar) jam. The dish traces back to the Middle Ages and was a symbol of luxury due to the island’s trade connections.

Obviously the French have been here

because that was a very good croissant

will TK's photo of his choice momentarily

Close up of TK's

Saffranspannkaka

TK does not look medieval!

Refreshed with breakfast, we strolled along again.

Nearby was a shop that sold dewberry (salmbar) jam and TK definitely wanted to take that home!

Sights along the way!

In area called Stora Torget

Statue depicts a ruler or someone important 

Info in Swedish. I cannot 

find what these ruins were

P.S. I think the statue might be 

Erik of Pomerania

Back side of those ruins

I was completely smitten with the church dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was a Franciscan church and monastery, established by the Franciscan order in the mid-13th century and built in the medieval Gothic tradition. Erected at the heart of the town shortly after the market square was laid out, the church became a prominent religious house. It is said that Mary Magdalene’s relics were kept beneath the main altar.

St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, exterior

Interior, looking toward altar

Looking toward altar

Baptismal font,
separate room behind the altar

Looking up

Looking back from the altar

The friary began in 1233, and the church itself was finished around 1250 as a single, long, narrow nave. Construction continued with additions--the presbytery reached completion in 1388 and was consecrated in 1391. In 1402 six vaults of the nave gave way, and the nave was then rebuilt with new columns and vaulting. The surviving medieval presbytery was completed and consecrated in 1412.

The ruins present the outline of a medieval church that evolved from a single nave into a three-aisled hall. Walls of natural stone mark the footprint of a long church oriented toward the sea. There was a spiritual feel to the ruins of this church--people were quiet inside its walls. I could only imagine the skill and artisanship, plus the belief in God, that went into creating such a church in the Middle Ages.

We did not see St. Mary's Cathedral--the only medieval church still in active use today--we just could not find it. 

St. Mary's Cathedral, only medival church

still in use today--next trip!

Consecrated in 1225

Before returning to the ship, TK wanted to try authentic Swedish meatballs and shrimp with toast.

Toast Skagen

Shrimp with dill and bechamel 

cheese with exquisite toast

Klassica Kottbullar med henlaged potatismos

pressgurka, skirat smor

Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy, and 

pressed cucumbers topped with cream cheese

Because of high winds, the ship did not leave the port as scheduled, but three hours later.

TK's Takes: He is exhausted and said he could not do another port. Thankfully we have a sea day tomorrow!  Also, he did not see any satellite dishes on homes in Visby.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN MEETS BALTIC BREEZES, BOATS, AND BRIDGES!

Friday, August 14, 2026
Nynashamm, Sweden for Stockholm
83F and sunny!

Stockholm

Our port today is Nynäshamn, a coastal town located about 37 miles south of Stockholm. Cruise ships and ferries often dock here instead of central Stockholm to avoid a time-consuming detour through the archipelago. It took about one hour to travel from Nynäshamn to Stockholm on our Princess bus today.  We opted for Stockholm on our own, which was a good choice... over 15,000 steps later, she says.

Stockholm is the capital and most populous city of Sweden, built across 14 distinct islands connected by 57 bridges. It has been dubbed the "Venice of the North.”  As of 2026, Stockholm’s population is approximately 1 million people.  I looked and looked for the Skarsgaard brothers (True Blood, The Vikings), to no avail. We did encounter lots of tall people though.

After an hour of rolling hills and lots of interesting bedrock, the bus dropped us off near the National Museum at 11 a.m. and we had 5 hours to explore the city.  We knew that the Abba Museum was very crowded, so we headed to the Viking Museum. We discovered that there were no ships in this museum

Area of the museums 
we did not see

Since I already crossed the barrier

of taking photos in restrooms

in Pompeii in 2024, I thought

I would include this one

Janie with the Vasa Museum 

New category: photos of

museums we did  not visit

We were told at an information booth that the better option was Vasa Museum. In 1628, the Swedish Royal Navy debuted Vasa, an impressive 226-foot-long war vessel, built to display Sweden’s vast naval power. The ship had the astounding capacity to carry 64 heavy gun cannons, which was an unprecedented armament aboard any battleship at the time. It was supposed to be a feat of engineering. But then, it buckled under its own weight and sank to the bottom of Stockholm Harbor on August 10, 1628, just 1400 yards from shore.  Rediscovered in nearly pristine shape 300 years later, it is a very popular sight to behold. Guess what. There were at least 200 people in line to see it.  Note to self: Buy tickets online before you leave home!

One goal: find a Swedish 

cinnamon bun!

Nordic Museum-another 
one we did not visit

Since that trek to the area of the museums was about 1.5 miles, we opted for an Uber back to center city. A sleek Tesla picked us up and what a screen it had. We were dropped off at a posh Starbucks for a Stockholm mug.

Map of city/Tesla

plus 3-D view of cars and pedestrians

Starbucks

We strolled through a Cultural Festival, much like We Love Erie Days, only much larger.

This was probably a backdrop for

children's photos, but 

no one was around!

A girls' choir with orchestra/

beautiful!

TK took this picture of sportfish-

top fish is a brown trout

bottom: Atlantic salmon

Food trucks-Greek, Brazilian, 

Mexican, Swedish, etc.

Finally, we found the “old town,” a delightful area with many small shops with all things Swedish, as well as restaurants with outdoor seating.  Next time we will start there!

Women's clothing

Children's clothing

A Dala horse is a traditional carved, 

painted wooden statuette of a horse 

originating in the Swedish province 

of Dalarana. The Dala horse has been

 widely used as a toy for children.

A symbol of Dalarna, 

as well as of Sweden in general.

Toys

Sweden is known for its salt licorice

No Swedish fish in sight 

Firetruck!

Boats and bridges!

Before boarding the bus

we opted for strawberries and cream!

In no time at all it was time to meet the bus to return to the ship—just in time for dinner.

I see three bridges

We are on one of them

Interesting facts:

• Midnight sun: Stockholm is too far south for the sun to remain above the horizon all night, which is required for a true midnight sun. Around the summer solstice in late June, the city experiences persistent twilight, where the sun sets around 10:00 PM and rises again around 3:30 AM, but the sky never turns completely dark. This period is called white nights, lasting roughly from mid-May to early August.
• Sweden is the largest Scandinavian country.
• Sweden is a Parliamentary Republic and Monarchy (dating back 1000 years)
• It has 26,700 islands
• Two thirds of Sweden/covered by forests
• December 13 is the darkest period of winter.
• Fika—I liked this new word-- fika means a deliberate coffee‑and‑pastry break taken to pause, connect, and socialize—usually with others, often twice a day.
• Smultronställe—I liked this phrase too—a Swedish phrase for a personal place of joy, kept partly secret 

TK’s Takes: He saw jelly fish in the water near the Princess pier—pink!  Stockholm was very clean.  As we rode out of the city he remarked that the suburbs had mostly nice looking apartment buildings, not many single family homes. 

HELSINKI, FINLAND AND A CHURCH MADE OF ROCK!

Thursday, August 13, 2026
Helsinki, Finland
59F and sunny

Back to Basics:

I need to remember that I am writing this blog so that we remember what the heck we did when and where. It is also required reading for Randy and Brian (and I hope that isn’t torture). Friends and family are invited along for the adventure, and for bedtime reading if they have trouble going to sleep. Keep in mind that I am listening to tour guides, reading, taking notes, and taking photos all at the same time.  I am not always accurate! 

I had to remind myself this morning that cruises like this are very port intense, but if we were on a bus tour we would not only be visiting a city every day, but we would also be unpacking and packing quite frequently. We only had to unpack once for 27 days!  

Helsinki:

Sunshine and even cooler weather greeted us this morning.  We boarded our bus for Helsinki—we did not know that there would be a shuttle ($12 RT/pp) into the city when we were planning our tours.

We always learn a lot from the tour guide as we travel along--Helsinki is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is located on the Gulf of Finland. About 694,000 people live in the municipality. As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Most Finns speak Finnish, Swedish, and English.

Layla pointed out the Swedish, Russian, and newer Finnish architecture. Like the other countries we visited, their history is tied to Russia, the Soviet Union, and Germany. Sweden occupied the area for 600 years before the Russians.  Freedom is the key word.  Helsinki was established in the 1800s, so it is a newer city.

A couple of interesting tidbits Layla shared:

• Sauna is the only Finnish word in the English language. Finns have a deep rooted sauna culture.
• Finns used walking poles for a very long time, and the rest of Europe laughed at that practice. Now many people use walking poles and we can attest to that!
• Helsinki is also a ship building port—mainly building Arctic vessels and cruise ships.
• It is the smallest Nordic country
• Finland is Europe’s most forested country, with over 75% of its land covered by boreal forests dominated by Scots pine, Norway spruce, and birch. The forests are a defining feature of the country’s landscape and economy.
• Winter is from mid-October to May much of the time—I really could not get a handle on how much snow. But in winter, there are 5 hours of daylight and they use day lamps to help cope mentally with the darkness [note for Coleen!]
• There are over 100,000 shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea with 10,000 documented—according to Tour Guide Layla.
• Finland recently won the 2026 IIHF World Championship in ice hockey!
• The 1952 Olympic Games were held in Helsinki

Our first stop was Temppeliaukio Lutheran Church, a unique modern church carved directly into solid bedrock. The interior was excavated and built directly out of solid rock and is bathed in natural light which enters through the skylight surrounding the center copper dome. The church is used frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics. A very interesting concept.

Temppeliaukio Church entrance

The altar at Temppeliaukio Lutheran Church

Organ

Close up of bedrock--granite

From there we headed to Sibelius Park, dedicated to Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. It is an abstract welded cluster of acid-resistant stainless steel pipes in an undulating pattern, each installed on granite natural to the terrain. The purpose of the modern design is to symbolically evoke Sibelius’ music using public art.  It is a sound sculpture—the pipe cluster can generate sounds due to wind, rain, and echoing voices.  Visitors can experience the art immersion by standing within the cavity.  I really appreciated the thought behind this piece.

Tribute to Jean Sibelius

I am an art appreciator, but I did not care for

the sculpture of Sibelius' head on the right

Another view 

Our last stop was an open air market with high quality Finnish products and fresh food.  I found something especially sweet for my dear grand nephew Archie for Christmas.  We found woolen goods, knives, furs, wooden kitchen tools, jams and jellies, wooden toys, and more.  The Finns are proud of their handicrafts. 

Food vendors in yellow tents

Craft and souvenir vendors in white tents

Strawberries for 8 euros per "box"

Soft wolf fur for sale-

did not check the price

Top row: salmon soup, deep fried vendace, fish n chips,

nordic meatballs, mixed fish. Bottom row: reindeer hotdog,

vendace meal, sea salmon, lapland reindeer, 

mixed reindeer. On the end: salmon paella

We had a good stop in Helsinki—even though it was cool, the sun warmed us.  We had plenty of time in the market.  I wanted to see Santa Claus! 

We get an extra hour of sleep tonight!! TK enjoys resetting our two alarm clocks so often.

By the way, every city we have visited has been incredibly clean. 

TK’s Takes:  He skipped the Rock Church and went to a bakery instead. He said they had the best coffee (he bought a pound) and cinnamon rolls.  He also noted that Finns smoke thin cigarettes. Right away he noticed the geese in the park -- we figured out they were barnacle geese

Barnacle Geese

(not my photo)